PO line description should represent current bibliographical data
Alma provides insufficient data in PO lines for the task of pulling a list of subscriptions a library has of a specific publisher's titles:
The PO line description contains only bibliographical data from the bib record as it was at the time the PO line was created. Subsequent changes in the publisher data are not updated in the related PO lines.
Even in newly created PO lines, Alma introduces the content of MARC field 264 _1 instead of 264 31 if such a field exists, i.e. it copies the first, not the current publisher’s name into the PO line description.
In negotiations with publishers, especially when licensing electronic content, it is essential to be able to provide a complete list of all subscriptions, through an agency or directly, of that publisher's titles.
PO lines should be updated when the related bib record is amended; at the very least, when creating a PO line or manually updating it from the bib record, the current publisher should be imported.
Martin Gränicher, Library am Guisanplatz
martin.graenicher@gs-vbs.admin.ch
-
Olivier Simioni commented
I agree with Andreas Bigger. If the title in the description was changed manually, it must not be changed by an automatic process, even if the bib record has changed.
-
Andreas Bigger commented
However, if the title in the description was changed manually, it MUST NOT CHANGE under any circumstances. We use this to differentiate between different packages of e-books we ordered from a provider. They all hang on the same collection. If the title changes automatically to the one of the bib record, we will no longer know what we have ordered!
-
Burk Becker commented
Libraries order subscriptions either through agencies or directly from the provider. For subscription management, it is essential to be able to compile subscriptions according to the current publisher, regardless of the current supplier. The information offered by Alma under "Order Lines" of the first publisher instead of the current one is misleading and obsolete information.